Category Musical Passion
Fiddler and Family
Teacher is in a production of Fiddler on the Roof, so we’re going to go see her. Since starting lessons with her she’s been in probably 3 or 4 shows but I just haven’t been able to make it work yet. Something about Fiddler is in the air for me anyhow – a friend and […]
Brahms
I’ve just started a Brahms Waltz – it’s my first Brahms and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve worked with to date – extraordinarily lovely. As is my practice, I’m doing some digging on the piece. My quick web search revealed, on the site of violinist Timothy Judd, the fact that it’s Waltz #15 in […]
I Am a Violin Ninja
An old friend sent a present by way of my mom. Four lovely stickers produced by string manufacturer D’Addario: My cover is blown. Thanks for reading. Ryan
Musical Warriors
The National Women’s Martial Arts Federation has, for almost 40 years, been an active force furthering the participation and impact of women in the martial arts. My karate teacher has been an active leader in the organization since nearly its founding, and this year my school hosted the NWMAF’s annual summer training camp. The camp […]
We’re All Playing the Same Instrument
I’m sure others have done it, but Pablo de Sarasate and Niccolo Paganini are two legends (see yesterday’s greats list) who specialized in writing breathtaking compositions for the violin that highlighted their own immense capabilities with the instrument. Many of the pieces they wrote have become well-known showpieces for violinists; these pieces, when played as their […]
Ranking
My find of Mischa Elman playing Gavotte yesterday helped me realize that I don’t really know who the best violinists in the world are. I have followed some names over the course of my lifetime – Isaac Stern (now deceased), Izhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Janine Jensen – and I’ve also known to appreciate older names […]
German-ness
My new song is from an opera called Der Freischütz, by Carl Maria von Weber, a German composer born in 1786. Wikipedia reports the opera, first performed in 1821, is widely considered to be the first major German Romantic opera. The Hunter’s Chorus, my song, is a popular piece to excerpt from the work. It’s […]
Erasure
Most people who love them learned to appreciate Erasure at least two decades ago. Not me. While my peers were appreciating the electronic greats of pop culture during the late 1980s, I was utterly oblivious and doing other things. Mostly, when it comes to pop music, I still am. I really could not tell you […]
A Musical Independence Day
As I lay in bed yesterday morning prior to getting up, I started thinking about music representative of American Independence Day, and immediately John Philip Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever popped into my head. When I overcame the inertia of the bed, I grabbed coffee and made my way to the internet, where Google’s Independence […]
A Tough Slog and Ode to Joy II
I played a few times last week, despite my wrists still not being up to speed following my bike crash 9 days ago. Mostly my playing was going fine until yesterday, when I felt more discomfort than I had been experiencing prior. One thing that changed is that the day before yesterday I started back […]
Ryan Libel 